The story of Jacob Mayer is one of the most bizarre in the annals of American Jewish history. In order to understand how such a thing could have occurred, one must keep in mind that for many years America was a Jewish free-for-all.

The first half of the following poem is loosely based on a true situation as shared with me by a very close friend whose family "culture" was to "good- naturedly" tease one another or make gentle fun of each other's looks and actions.

For the last few weeks, I have been writing about the efforts of survivors and second- generation Jews from Piotrkow in going back to their hometown to preserve/restore the remnants of the town's Jewish history.

For the last few weeks, I have been writing about the efforts of survivors and second- generation Jews from Piotrkow in going back to their hometown to preserve/restore the remnants of the town's Jewish history.

When my oldest grandchild, Penina Bracha, was born three years ago on Yom Kippur, the fact that there was now a third generation in the family - two after me, didn't really have any major impact on how I viewed myself.

Last week I wrote how important it is that the second generation of Holocaust survivors begin to take over the work of preserving the memory of Jewish life and culture in the many towns and cities that had been mostly destroyed during the Shoah.

There are those who have the foresight to establish institutions that leave a lasting impression on Klal Yisrael. One such man was Rabbi Abraham Nachman Schwartz, who founded Yeshiva Torah ve-Emunah Hebrew Parochial School in Baltimore.